Mood, Psychological, And Behavioral Factors Of Health-Related Quality Of Life Throughout Recovery From Sport Concussion

Objective:To measure alterations in mood, psychological, and behavioral factors in collegiate athletes throughout recovery from sport concussion (SC) compared with matched controls.Setting:University research laboratory.Participants:Twenty (55% female) division I collegiate athletes with SC (19.3 +/- 1.08 years old, 1.77 +/- 0.11 m, 79.6 +/- 23.37 kg) and 20 (55% female) uninjured matched controls (20.8 +/- 2.17 years old, 1.77 +/- 0.10 m, 81.9 +/- 23.45 kg).Design:Longitudinal case control.Main Measures:Self-reported concussion-related symptoms, anxiety, resilience, stigma, sleep disturbance, fatigue, and appetite were assessed at 3 time points in the SC group: T-1 (<= 72 hours of SC), T-2 (7 days after T-1), and T-F (after symptom resolution). Control participants were evaluated at similar intervals. Group and group-by-sex differences were assessed using repeated-measures analyses of variance. Post hoc analyses were performed with Tukey's honestly significant difference (HSD) and paired-sample t tests.Results:The SC group had greater sleep disturbance than controls at T-1 (P = .001; d = 1.21) and endorsed greater stigma at all time points (P <= .03; d >= 0.80). Stigma (F-(2) = 3.68; P = 0.03; eta(2)(p) = 0.12), sleep disturbance (F-(2) = 5.27; P = .008; eta(2)(p) = 0.15), and fatigue (F-(2) = 3.46; P = .04; eta(2)(p) = 0.11) improved throughout recovery in those with SC only. No differences were observed between males and females (P > .05).Conclusion:Sleep disturbance and stigma were negatively affected by SC, highlighting potential areas for clinical interventions to maximize recovery in males and females.